chAngE
by Yue-to-Sakura
Summary: Orihime Inoue was tired of standing around, waiting for things to happen. In her own way, she was going to change... In her own way, she was going to embrace her past and set things in motion for HIS sake.
1. Chapter 1: Orihime's Decision

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters! They're Tite Kubo's!

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**chAngE**

**Chapter 1: Orihime's Decision**

* * *

"Ohayo, Orihime!"

"Ohayo, Tatsuki-chan!"

And the cycle would once again begin. Orihime Inoue would smile brighter than the sun, and she and her friends would walk to school, beaming and laughing… Ah, but that wasn't the exactly the case anymore….

Orihime's steps slowed down to a halt, while Tatsuki, Chizuru and the rest of her friends continued walking. Her eyes were on the receding back of her friends, looking but not exactly seeing. Physically, she was in the present. Her mind and heart, however, were in the past. She wasn't seeing the back of the Karakura High uniforms and the heads of her friends. Instead, what she saw was the back of a black-haired person who had a bone-like horned half-helmet covering the left side of his head and was clad in a white long sleeved jacket with billowing tailcoats and a hakama, posture detached, and so painfully faraway…

A gentle, cold gust of wind blew, caressing her face and playing with her hair, but she didn't feel it. What she felt was the sensation of a pale hand with black-manicured fingernails running through her cinnamon tresses while the other hand ghosted over her cheeks.

"Orihime!" her ears picked up the distant voice of Tatsuki calling out to her. Yet, what her mind heard was another voice altogether. A voice that was a silky deep monotone; a voice that she'd get lost into just by hearing it. She almost did, if not for the warm pressure that suddenly introduced itself on her right shoulder. Orihime blinked.

"Oi! Orihime, are you okay?" both her ears and her mind this time recognized the concerned voice of her best friend.

Orihime locked her eyes with Tatsuki, smiled and answered, "Hai! I was just feeling sleepy! The weather's quite cold and is really perfect for a peaceful nap you know?" Orihime then brought a hand up to her head, closed her eyes and laughed nervously.

Fwip!

A sting on her forehead made Orihime open her eyes once again. She was greeted with the sight of Tatsuki, her arms folded and her face wearing her trademarked worried and soft looked reserved only for Orihime.

"Get some proper sleep next time Hime, okay? You don't want to doze off like that," scolded Tatsuki.

"Hai! I will!" Orihime bubbly chirped.

"Good, now let's get to class. Ichigo and the others would be there already," said Tatsuki, grabbing Orihime's hand.

Orihime didn't say anything back and just let herself be dragged to school, surprising her best friend and causing her to turn her head to the auburn haired girl and ask,

"Orihime… Aren't you excited to see Ichigo again in school after what you've came back from- I mean, after what you've been through?"

Orihime smiled at Tatsuki. That's right. She was going to see Kurosaki-kun once again in his school uniform… Not in his Shinigami robes….. Kurosaki-kun would look like Kurosaki-kun again. Not that monster he became on top of Las Noches Dome.. But Orihime couldn't look at Ichigo Kurosaki the same way again as she did before, no matter how hard she'd tried. No matter how much Kurosaki-kun would change his appearance. He has become a just a friend when once upon a time, he was someone more, and was for an instance, someone less.

Orihime locked gazes with her best friend, her smile becoming a tad bit wistful, and answered, "I am Tatsuki-chan. And I feel the same for everyone else in our class."

The grip on Orihime's hand loosened to nothing as Tatsuki was frozen in her tracks. The spiky haired brunette stared at Orihime with wide eyes, getting the implication of the caramel brown haired girl's words. Orihime merely smiled, laughed nervously and then continued to walk ahead.

After a few steps, Orihime stood still and turned her head back to the still stupefied martial artist and cheerfully teased, "Come on Tatsuki-chan! We're going to be late! Everyone's waiting! If you're going to just stand there, I'm going to leave you behind!"

With that said, Orihime returned her gaze forward and continued walking. A sigh escaped her lips and unconsciously, her right hand slipped into the pocket of her skirt, fiddling the only thing inside of it: something metallic and circular in shape that was bidding its time until it will be used. Orihime's violet-tinted grey eyes looked up briefly at the sky and saw an oncoming mass of dark clouds, causing a wistful smile to grace her beautiful face.

She was going to have a long day…

* * *

Contrary to what she thought, Orihime's day passed like a blur and before she knew it, she was sitting on a swing in the park that changed her life - the park where she and HE first met- as the sun set in the sky. Once again, she was physically there, but her mind and heart were elsewhere. This time, they were swimming across her ocean of thoughts, realizations and "what ifs"..

_What if I have realized it sooner?_

_What if I haven't been blinded by my crush for Kurosaki-kun?_

_What if I was stronger?_

_…Would things have been different?_

_…..Would he be here with me now?_

A soft sigh escaped Orihime's naturally pink lips, and her eyes travelled towards her right wrist, landing on the silver bracelet there. Like the last time she wore it, she was visible to no one else but HIS kind… But unlike before, she wasn't threatened to use it. She was wearing it because she wanted to. She was wearing it because she had to, or else Kurosaki-kun, Tatsuki-chan and the others would try to stop her.

_I'm tired.. I don't want to just stand around and wait for someone to save me… _

_I don't need Kurosaki-kun to do that for me anymore…._

_I'm going to go my own way…_

_I'm going to change…_

_I'll be stronger…. I'll set things to happen this time… _

_And I'm going to be the 'woman' he kept calling me…_

_Dakara… gomen nasai.. Kurosaki-kun.. Tatsuki-chan.. minna…_

_(That's why.. I'm sorry.. Kurosaki-kun.. Tatsuki-chan… everyone..)_

Arriving at that thought, Orihime stood up from the swing, just as a distant thunder rumbled and the last few of the sun's rays were disappearing into the darkness of the night. She has found her resolve, and she was going to act by it. Her face determined, Orihime ran towards her destination, not once looking back nor hesitating.

* * *

The next morning, Tatsuki was greeted by the grim faces of Ichigo, Ishida, Rukia and Chad, and a note that said:

**_Kurosaki-kun, Tatsuki-chan, Ishida-kun, Kuchiki-san, Sado-kun…. Minna…_**

**_Hontoni, hontoni gomen nasai…_**

**_(I'm really, really sorry…)_**

**_But..I'm going on my own way…._**

**_I won't yield.. I won't step away…_**

**_I'm going to be honest to how I feel now.._**

**_I'm not going to lose.._**

**_I want to change…_**

**_ - Orihime_**

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_A/N: That's all for now folks! Hope you enjoyed reading! Thank you very much for taking the time to read it! :D Please, if it's okay with you, leave a review ^_^_

_Once again, thank you very much! *bows* Hope you have a nice day! _


	2. Chapter 2: Reminiscence in the Dark

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They're Tite Kubo's!

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**chAngE**

**Chapter 2: Reminiscence in the Dark**

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How long has it been since she was last in the unending darkness of a garganta? Orihime held the most accurate answer to her own question: 4 months, 1 day, 1 minute and 52 seconds in the Living World's time. How long has it been since she first travelled using a garganta? 4 months, 4 days, 4 hours, 4 minutes and 4 seconds, in once again, the Living World's time.

Despite how much time passed, Orihime could still remember those trips with such clarity as if they just happened a day ago. At the first time, the garganta's blackness racked fear in Orihime's form. At the second time, its shadows and emptiness amplified the despair and feeling of loss in her heart….. And yet again, while Orihime's body continued doing its work of walking behind Yoruichi Shihoin, as the latter was making a reiatsu path for the two of them through the garganta, her mind and heart strayed to days long passed.

* * *

_It was midnight. It was time to go. However, Orihime's feet refused to move. She was frozen in her place, a few meters away from her and her captor's supposed rendezvous. Oh how she wished that this was just a nightmare, but it was not so._

_The cold stare of her captor's vibrant but empty green eyes as his midnight black locks that were not confined by his Hollow mask whipped around his face with the gentle wind that blew wasn't something her mind would come up with, even in her worst nightmares. Her imagination could never just come up with the image of someone so empty, distant, and cold; no matter how overactive it was._

_"Come, woman," the Arrancar's deep, silky monotone voice reached her ears in a silent command._

_Orihime looked down to the sandy ground of the beach (Yes, he told her to meet him at the beach) and willed her feet to move. They had to, for Kurosaki-kun's sake and the others. For their protection. For their safety. Tentatively, Orihime's right foot took a step forward, followed by her left, and back again until she was just an arm's length away from the green-eyed Hollow, her eyes still locked on the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world._

_She felt the Arrancar's gaze on her, but the Hollow said nothing, to which she was a bit thankful for. She heard the sound of space being ripped and knew a garganta was being opened. _

_"Woman" the Hollow spoke._

_Orihime raised her eyes. Her captor stood in front of the garganta, his back facing her but with his head turned to the side so that one emerald orb looked at her._

_"Follow me," he ordered. She reluctantly complied, looking back at the beach while entering the garganta until it closed, and she was left with her fear personified. _

_She has never been in a garganta before, and its darkness seemed to be a monster wanting to swallow her whole. She was all alone now… No Kurosaki-kun… No Tatsuki-chan…. No Kuchiki-san… No Ishida-kun.. No Sado-kun… No one else but herself…. The darkness pressed on her, heavy, unforgiving and harsh. Her whole body trembled as the shadows seemed to creep up on her, consuming her._

_"Woman," a deep, silky, monotone voice chased away the shadow monsters. Orihime blinked a couple of times, her eyes refocusing and adjusting to the blackness, and saw her captor standing in front of her an arm's length away, facing her with his hands in his pockets and his face a blank mask._

_"Don't make such a fuss, woman. It's unsightly. Focus your gaze straight ahead. The darkness will not harm you," the Hollow told her._

_Orihime blinked, and then a small smile made its way on her face._

_"Hai…" she replied._

_"Good. Now come," he responded. And this time, Orihime was a tad bit willing to follow. She wasn't alone in this darkness. There was someone else with her, even if he was the enemy. Even if he was her captor._

* * *

A genuine, happy smile made its way on Orihime's face, but it was soon wiped away when another memory surfaced in her head….

* * *

_"Are you afraid of me, woman?" Ulquiorra asked her, reaching out a hand as he slowly faded away to ash._

_Orihime's eyes widened at this question, but then her stormy grey orbs softened. She took in his Segunda Etapa form: black fur, a tail, a demon's pitch-black wings, talons, horns, and of course, his Hollow hole… She looked at his face, which had the softest and saddest expression she has ever seen from him: his tear marks, and his green, green orbs that betrayed the most emotion they have ever revealed to her._

_Afraid of him? Orihime was far, far away from such a thing._

_Orihime's face softened, tears pooling her eyes, and replied softly, "I'm not.."_

_"I see," he said and then started retracting his outstretched hand._

_Panic made its way in Orihime's insides and she ran forward to take his hand in hers…. Only to grasp nothing but the air and ashes. Orihime froze in her tracks, her arms reaching out to someone who wasn't there anymore._

_Ulquiorra Cifer, her protector, was gone in her life…. Gone with the wind that blew on Las Noches' roof…. A tear ran down her face. Followed by another. And then another, until her tears were racing against each other. They weren't tears of pity. They were ones of lamentation._

_"Inoue…" she heard Kurosaki-kun's voice say. She turned to him, unaware of the waterfall of tears that she was shedding._

_"Ku- Kurosaki-kun..?" she responded quietly, her voice a strangled sob that was a few decibels above a whisper._

_"Are you okay?" the Substitute Shinigami asked, gesturing to her tears with eyebrows furrowed in worry… and confusion._

_Orihime blinked and held up a hand to touch her cheeks, consequently noticing her onslaught of tears. Her eyes widened for a fraction of second before her grey orbs looked down at the ground. Kurosaki-kun has saved her… Ulquiorra was dead. She should be happy. After all, she was free…. But she was feeling the opposite of happy._

_She looked up at Kurosaki-kun and involuntarily cringed, her eyes seeing the monster that he became just a while ago before actually perceiving that he was himself again. How could she be afraid of the one she loved? More importantly, from whom did Kurosaki-kun save her from? From Ulquiorra who protected her when Kurosaki-kun fired a Getsuga Tensho towards Menoly and Loly who were holding her hostage and would've used her as a human body shield?_

_Orihime wiped away her tears, faked a smile and replied, "Hai… I'm alright Kurosaki-kun…"_

_And the events that took place after that blended together in her mind. To her, one minute, she was on top of Las Noches' dome and the next, she was back inside a garganta, surrounded by the people she knew but still feeling alone._

_Orihime walked a few paces behind everyone else, looking back every once in a while. She was half- hoping that Ulquiorra would be following them; that he was still alive. But each time, only the garaganta's darkness trailed behind them. And each time, that tiny flame of hope slowly died down to nothing but a burned wick and a half-melted candle._

_She forgot the fear that the blackness of the garganta had once induced in her. In that moment, the garganta's shadows were nothing but a reflection of the emptiness that settled in her heart from the loss of someone who she was expected not to grieve for…._

* * *

Orihime blinked back tears, but one managed to escape. She immediately wiped it away, reconnecting her mind and heart with her body to the present. She kept her gaze forward, just as he had told her to do before, and smiled a little at the blackness all around her.

The garganta's shadows did not bring her fear nor emptiness nor sadness nor anything else anymore. In that moment, her third time of going through a garganta, all its darkness did to her was strengthen her will; they served as a reminder of the fear she was able to conquer and the sadness she embraced with her heart's determination.

"Orihime, the exit's up ahead.. Are you sure you want to do this?" Yoruichi's voice snapped Orihime out of her thoughts.

The said auburn haired girl shifted her eyes to the dark-skinned Shape Shifter, smiled a tad bit wider and replied with the utmost certainty,

"Hai, Yoruichi-sin… I'm sure"

And the two came out of the darkness and into Hueco Mundo's eternal backwards crescent moon night.

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_A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed reading and thank you for taking the time to do so! :DDD Please tell me what you think of the story?_

_Oh, and about the title... It's tentative XDDD Any suggestions? :))))_

_..._

_XDDD I'm posting one incomplete story after another aren't I?... Hehehehe.. xDDD My bad..._

_Anywho, *bows* I hope you'll have a good day!_


	3. Chapter 3: Untold Stories 1

**Disclaimer: **I absolutely do not own Bleach or any of its characters. You all know who it truly belongs to. Next, I do not own Lion King 3 and any of its characters. Once again, you guys know who owns them.

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**chAngE**

**Chapter 3: Untold Stories- Moonlit Strolls of Disney Movies**

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Hueco Mundo was just as Orihime remembered it to be. Stretching towards the horizon was a white sand desert with the occasional eerie skeletal, quartz trees dotting it. Upwards from the horizon line, the dark, black curtain of the night sky hung, empty save for the reversed moon that dimly lit the world. The air was as cold and as reishi-dense as ever. Once in a while, a silhouette of a Hollow can be seen in the distance, hunting for prey. All in all, it was a welcome sight to her.

To her companion, however, the bleak, desert world's landscape was near unwelcome. It was so different from the Living World and Soul Society. And as Orihime started walking calmly towards Las Noches, Yoruichi could only wonder why their bubbly and fun-loving Orihime would want to come back to such a place, void of all the bright things from Karakura. Then again, Orihime hasn't been as cheerful as she was before.. It was like she was mourning as if Ichigo has died… But that wasn't the case… What was even more mind-boggling was the fact that the moment they have arrived in Hueco Mundo, the Orihime she knew was starting to go back, the atmosphere of despair that clung around her previously seemingly vanishing into nothing. The ex-Shinigami couldn't help but ponder…. What in the world did that bastard Aizen do to Orihime when she was in that wretched castle of his? The device that Urahara handed to the Shape Shifter a while ago suddenly felt heavy in her outfit's pocket… More disturbingly, what was Orihime planning to do with such equipment and in this world of Hollows?

"Yoruichi-san, daijobu (are you okay)?" the light-hearted voice of Orihime dragged the said dark-skinned woman out of her thoughts.

Yoruichi shook her head and then looked directly to the eyes of the auburn-haired girl in front of her. Without hesitation and with a face uncharacteristically serious, Yoruichi asked, "Orihime… what did that bastard do to you?"

Orihime blinked in confusion. Bastard? Who was she referring to?

"What do you mean, Yoruichi-san?" the caramel brown haired girl asked.

Yoruichi took a few steps forward and then put a hand to Orihime's shoulders.

"What did that bastard Aizen do to you?! Why did you want to go back here? What are you planning on doing? What did you mean by setting things to motion a while ago? What did you and Kisuke agree about?" the ex-Shinigami barraged.

A small frown appeared on Orihime's face and then replied,

"Aizen didn't do anything to me... They didn't do anything… And…. I wanted to go back here because I had something to do… Urahara-san did not scheme this… This is all my idea Yoruichi-san… And on what I'm going to do.. I…. I want to bring him back…."

Yoruichi's eyebrows furrowed, loosened her grip, and questioned, "Bring who back?"

Orihime stepped away from Yoruichi's hold, looked out towards the horizon with her left hand fisting over her heart before replying with a distant voice, "Ulquiorra…."

"What?! Aizen's Cuatro Espada? Wasn't he the one who kidnapped you?" Yoruichi asked.

Orihime's grey orbs flickered to Yoruichi's topaze ones before answering, "Ulquiorra's more than that….."

Yoruichi was about to voice out an objection.. That what Orihime may be feeling something akin to Stockholm Syndrome when the girl in question suddenly spoke out.

"Want to hear a story Yoruichi-san?" Orihime questioned, her eyes staring distantly at the crescent moon hanging on the black backdrop that was the sky.

"What story?" Yoruichi queried.

Orihime didn't respond. Instead, she started walking forward towards who-knows-where. Yoruichi's frown deepened, but she said nothing, opting instead to follow former quietly. Silence fell over them for a few seconds, until the younger of the two broke it, unfolding the first of the untold stories that happened in Hueco Mundo…..

* * *

_It was Orihime's official first day in Las Noches and it was near lunch, judging by her cycle of meals. Despite just being in her room for a night and a few hours, she was already feeling anxious, claustrophobic, and antsy. Who could blame her? One, a war was impending to come and she was truly worried for her friends… Two, she was in the enemy's fortress for Pete's sake! If their foes were just normal humans, she would've been a bit calmer.. But no… Their opponents were far from such.. They were Hollows…. Beings who thrive on instinct and feed off human souls. Three, she had totally nothing to do but stare at the unchanging moon from her barred window, causing boredom and pessimistic thoughts to creep over her insides and brain._

_So, she started pacing around her room to get her blood pumping and for something to do. Then, she began to strike funny poses with her shadow to chase away her negative thoughts. After randomly conjuring random stances, she tried doing the routine of the sentry meerkats from Lion King 3._

_"Scurry" she whispered and scuttled across a corner of the room to another, thinking she was on top of a rock in the middle of an African savannah._

_"Sniff" she said next, inhaling the air in her room with closed eyes, imagining instead that she was smelling African air._

_"Flinch!" she squealed, striking the same pose the sentry meerkats do: one arm over her forehead, the other just below her jaw and one leg raised. She swept her eyes over her room….. about to conjure an image of the trio of funny hyenas that watched Timon during his sentry watch when she was met with an open door and a figure standing on the doorway. _

_"What are you doing woman?" came the monotone voice of her captor._

* * *

A hearty laugh made Orihime stop her story-telling, the familiar heat of embarrassment rushing to her cheeks as she found Yoruichi doubled over the sand. Perhaps she shouldn't have started her story with that part… But it was unavoidable… She had to recount it first so that the events that took place thereafter would make sense…

"Orihime…. Only… You.. Could… Think… and… Do… such things… in….. the… situation you were put in!" Yoruichi exclaimed in between bouts of laughter, tears starting to stream down her eyes.

Orihime pouted indignantly and responded, "Yoruichi-san please… Are you going to let me finish or not?"

All she got in answer were hysterical snickers. Orihime's flush turned even a deeper shade of red, if that was even possible…

After a while, the ex-Shinigami finally calmed down into just a few snigger here and there and so Orihime continued on with her story…

* * *

_All blood rushed to Orihime's face and she fell butt first to the floor as she squeaked, "Kyaaa!"_

_An awkward pause soon followed. Her captor staring at her emotionlessly, waiting for her answer while she looked at him with a face that rivalled that of a red rose, her brain a jumble of humiliation._

_A minute passed. Then another.. And another…_

_"I repeat… what were you doing just now woman?" her captor asked._

_"I.. um.. Well.. I- I…" she stuttered._

_Her captor tilted his head, urging her to continue._

_"Well… I… It's so boring in this room. I have nothing to do but sit or stand and stare at the moon. The silence is making me think negative thoughts too since a war's coming you know. So I just thought of pacing around the room to fight off the boredom. But my thoughts kept going, so I had to do something funny to ward them off. I started striking random poses, starting with Don Kanonji's infamous stance.. and then, I just did the routine of the sentry meerkats because it seemed more amusing you know?" Orihime rambled._

_Silence._

_"I see," came her captor's reply._

_A small sigh escaped Orihime's lips. At least he didn't comment that she was crazy or something like that, right? _

_"You are a strange human, woman," her captor suddenly stated._

_Orihime blinked at her captor and sweatdropped a bit.. Was that an insult or what? Then again, thanks goodness he didn't think she has lost her mind. Weird is much better than crazy, right?_

_"Regardless, I have brought you your meal. Now eat," he told her next, his even tone in a silent command. As if on cue, a lower Arrancar entered her room, rolling along a trolley with her lunch._

_Orihime's face fell and her blush faded at the sudden reminder of the reminder of her current situation. What was she doing, rambling to her captor like that as if he was a human? …. He does look like a human, she tried to reason. However, the truth was absolute. No matter how human her captor looked like, his half-helmet mask was a constant reminder of what.. no.. who he truly was. _

_Standing up with head bowed, Orihime answered in a surrendered voice, "Hai…"_

_And then the eating routine she had began. After a few minutes of only the sound of cutlery being heard in the room with the human and the Hollow, the former's voice finally spoke out, "I'm done". Then, Orihime proceeded to put her empty plate and her other eating materials to the trolley._

_Her captor then finally moved from his position on the wall, opened the door, let the servant Arrancar enter to retrieve the cart of food, and then said, "I will return later for your dinner"_

_Without another word, he left. Once again, Orihime was left all alone with only her thoughts and the shadows of her room as company. At first, she was fine with just sitting there in the quiet. After a few minutes, she started squirming. Her negative thoughts and boredom were coming back to torture her. However, she can't risk doing funny things again. So, she settled with lulling herself to sleep._

* * *

Yoruichi had finally gone over her previous hysterics and Orihime was thankful for it. Her story was starting to take a turn, and she didn't want Yoruichi's snickers to distract her and make her stumble over her words. After all, she also wanted to share some of her memories to others without them scolding her for even remembering such events.

* * *

_Orihime woke up to the presence of someone else in her room. Looking around, she found her captor on his usual place on the wall, hands in his pockets and the most vivid green eyes she'd ever saw hidden behind pale eyelids. A few meters to his left was the cart with her dinner, resting a few feet beside the sole table in her prison cell._

_"Eat woman," came the usual order. And as per se, Orihime did as she was told. _

_After a while, Orihime settled her tray of food back to its place on top of the trolley. As per routine, her captor let the lower Arrancar take the trolley away. So, Orihime headed to her couch/bed and prepared herself for another round of sleep even though she wasn't really sleepy, when a change of pace happened._

_"Woman, come," a deep, silky, flat voice made Orihime almost jump back in surprise. She turned around and found that her captor hasn't left yet, a deviation in the cycle of her meals._

_Orihime was about to voice out a question when suddenly, she felt a cold grip on her wrist. A gust of wind from rapid movement followed and the next thing she knew, she wasn't in her room anymore. She was on a desert of white sand, the sky of Hueco Mundo surrounding her from above._

_"How-?" Orihime turned to her captor and was about to ask something when he beat her to it._

_"I have been granted permission by Aizen-sama to take you outside of Las Noches for some walks," he nonchalantly said and then tilted his head a bit, "However, you will only be out for a limited amount of time and I will stand by to watch you. Do as you wish until then. You have complained of not having something to do earlier, have you not?"_

_Orihime was speechless. He actually took note of her boredom and tried to do something about it? That was… considerate… of him._

_As if reading her mind, her captor then said, "Do not misinterpret my actions woman. I am only doing this because it is my duty to take care of you. Aizen-sama has ordered to treat you as a guest, and as such, your human needs shall be accommodated." _

_Nonetheless, Orihime smiled at him and said, "Thank you… Ulquiorra-kun."_

_It was the first time she addressed him by his name, and personally, she liked the feel of his name on her tongue. It sounded so unique. So different from the usual names that she spoke of. Ulquiorra blinked at the sudden change from her. She just smiled wider at him and then started walking forward, revelling in the little bit of freedom given to her. _

_After a few moments of quiet, Orihime couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't that the silence was awkward. With Ulquiorra, it actually felt normal…and comfortable. The quietness with him wasn't making her think of negative thoughts. Instead, it actually gave her some peace of mind. However, humans were social creatures. She looked at Ulquiorra and then wondered: if her "needs" would be accommodated, would that mean he would humor her for some conversation? Feeling desperate for talk, she decided to give it a try. _

_"Eto… Ulquiorra-kun?" she tried gaining his attention._

_Ulquiorra's gaze moved to her and he replied, "Nanda (What)?"_

_"Well.. um… You see… Humans need social interactions.. and that includes talking.. so.. um… Can I talk to you?" she asked._

_"You are already talking to me woman and if conversations are a need of you humans, then I have orders to oblige," he responded._

_Orihime gladly grabbed the chance and started talking. Since her mind could still visibly recall her rather embarrassing moment a while ago, she started justifying her actions by talking about Lion King 3, and eventually leading to her rambling about other similar Disney movies with Ulquiorra listening and occasionally asking a question or commenting here and there. _

_And thus began a new routine for the prisoner and her captor turned to guardian._

* * *

"It was through those moonlit strolls that I realized Ulquiorra wasn't like the others," commented Orihime as she ended her story there.

Yoruichi remained silent, still processing what Orihime had told her. Indeed, the caramel brown-haired female had a point. This Ulquiorra seemed to be different from the Arrancars she had encountered. More than anything, he seemed to be curious about humans.

"Ah! I can see Las Noches already Yoruichi-san! Let's go!" Orihime suddenly chirped and grabbed the wrist of the dark-skinned woman.

And as the two ran, Yoruichi couldn't help but glance once in a while at Orihime's way. There were more things that happened in this world that would've led to Orihime going through these lengths to bring this Ulquiorra back and for her to have felt so sad for his death….. Yoruichi knew though that Orihime would tell her more of what happened… And maybe, she might know whether it was he who brought about a change in Orihime that finally made her stand up for herself and do things of her volition from Ichigo and the rest of her friends.

* * *

_A/N: Well, that's it! Hope you enjoyed reading and thank you very much for taking the time to do so! :DDD *bows*_

_I absolutely loved the sentry watch part! XDD And mind you, when I was younger (and more foolish) I actually did what Timon did when he was on sentry watch when I'm absolutely bored XDDDD_

_To more important matters, why are the recent chapters only containing flashbacks? There's a point to everything.. So please bear with me... Three to four more chapters of flashbacks and something will happen.. So please... just bear with me XDD_

_Anywho, ja ne! _


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